A typical brushless alternator has an exciter field winding which is a part of the stator structure of the machine. The rotor of the alternator includes an exciter armature in which an alternating output is developed. A rectifier which is a part of the rotor is connected with the exciter armature and provides direct current excitation for the main field winding. The alternator output is developed in the stator armature windings. The exciter field is connected through a regulator transistor with a DC source. A voltage regulator circuit provides a pulse width modulated drive signal to the regulator transistor in accordance with the output voltage of the alternator.
A failed diode in the rotating rectifier causes malfunctioning of the regulator and must be detected to avoid damage to the system. Prior circuits have, for example, responded to the frequency and amplitude of the ripple current in the field winding, Calfee et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,210,603 and Hyvarinen 3,534,228, or compared the exciter field voltage with the vector sum of the alternator armature current and voltage in a differential protection system, South U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,331.